Monthly Archives: November 2014

Hoanib River Trip for three days

06.11.2014 – 13.11.2014
Days passed with us mourning about Tara’s death. We worked in the bar every evening, during the day at our computers, so nothing special happened. In the evening Vital told us that we go for a couple of days to Hoanib River. As the Land Rover did not work, we decided to go with Vitals car. Already in the afternoon the car was packed, we packed our things as well, we needed our tent, some pillows, our valuables we stored in the office of Oppi Koppi. In the evening two German guys came to the bar and we had a lot of fun. We told them what we are going to do the following days and the two guys, Pumukel and Hanjo, spontaneously decided to join us. After having drunk too much we closed the bar and walked back to the campsite.

14.11.2014
Early morning start for Hoanib River. We packed the food and drinks into Vitals car and stored some things at the guys car and we drove off. The sun was just rising, which dipped the landscape into a marvelous yellow. Pumukel and Hanjo were following but much too close, so we told them to keep distance, not to get all the dust into their air filter. At Groot Pass we made a breakfast break where we emptied the breakfast boxes, which Marianne had prepared the day before. Soon we had been to the vet fence at Palmwag, where Himba women were selling their handicraft. Last fuel before entering the Palmwag concession, a remote area which we wanted to cross to Hoanib. We were driving around and somehow lost our way. When crossing a river bed, Vital got heavily stuck in the gravel and boulders. With the other vehicle we could get the car free. But it was dead end road, we definitely had lost our way. We supposed we had to go back quite a distance, but it was already too late, so we made camp in a river bed. Soon the tents were pitched, the table laid, the fire was burning and the meals were ready to eat. We had a lot of fun, because the two guys told a lot of stories about their sexual adventures here in Africa. The wind was blowing so we slipped in our tents. No hyenas to hear.

Packing the carHimba woman on our wayour campbreakfast

15.11.2014
As quick as we had prepared the camp the day before as quick it was put back into the car. This time we found our way. It was hot hot and the landscape changed from green bush, to semi desert, to desert, almost until Hoanib river. On the way we had again some navigation problems, but with Hanjos phone we found our right way. Suddenly our car started to slip and off we went from the road into the sandy surroundings, luckily flat and Vital could manage it to keep the car on the wheels. The last kilometers to Hoanib was an even more fantastic landscape, we drove through a siduary of the Hoanib River on gravel in a deep gorge – amazing. When we arrived at Hoanib there was a well and waterhole for the animals, there we topped up our water supply. We followed the river in its bed and suddenly a big elephant bull was walking towards us. They are not used to people there, so they can become rather dangerous. We pushed back and gave the lane free fro the elephant. We drove until a little natural balcony, where we put up our camp. We pitched the tents, put up our latrine, and set the table. The fire was quickly prepared, Maranne made a pojki cost, we drank a lot and emptied almost all the wine and whiskey, sitting around the fire talking nonsense, and again listened to the stories of Hanjo and Pumukel. Some springbok and giraffe passed but no Elephants. One by one we went to bed in our comfortable tent. No hyenas or lions to hear.

16.11.2014
After an extensive breakfast we guys went to collect firewood. Again we saw elephants, kudus, springbok and giraffes. We stopped at the well to refill and drove back. All of a sudden in the river bed there were three young lions resting in the shade, not even one kilometer away from our camp. We stopped and watched fro a while, the we drove back to fetch Alexandra, to show her the lions. Some photos – quite awesome. When we were back we had a strange feeling in our unfenced camp so close to the lions. We prepared dinner at the open fire again and forgot about the lion. Anyway in a tent it is said that one is safe.

Lions close to our camp

17.11.2014
In the morning we left. We drove through Hoanib river direction Sesfontein. A nice ride, we saw again a group of elephants, cows that stood in the shade of a huge acacia tree protecting a baby elephant, that was lying on the ground. We were not sure if it was just sleeping or if it was sick or injured. Eventually we arrived at Sesfontain, fuelled up at a Petrol station, where Pumukel was flirting with the petrol girl and at a shop we bought the necessary things for the journey. Close to Warmquelle we made a rest at a nice waterfall with natural pool to swim. Quickly we got rid of our clothes and jumped into the pool. It was amazing!!!! Quick late lunch and we headed back to Palmwag, there we saw a huge rainbow, which reminded us to our cute dog Tara, who had to cross the rainbow bridge two weeks ago. A few kilometers before Kamanjab the road crossed a river bed and when we approached there a herd of elephants with little ones wanted to cross the road. They were so shocked that we came along, that the elephants jumped back, shouting very loudly. Again we were lucky that we did not hit any of them. It got already dark when we arrived at Oppi Koppi. We had some dinner there and took a day off. It was a nice trip into the wild which we will long remember.